Even illegal online betting spammers are telling you to stay safe from coronavirus

Like death and taxes, receiving spam messages is a certain thing in this world. There’s just no escape from junk mail, telemarketing bulletins or messages from hungry loansharks.

Text messages about unlicensed loans and online gambling are especially annoying because the senders aren’t letting the Personal Data Protection Commission Act stop ‘em from going on a baiting spree. But when they start taking advantage of the current panic-inducing climate too? That’s pretty shrewd, despite the whole unlawfulness and all. 

An AsiaOne reader received earlier today (Feb 17) an anonymous message advertising an (illegal) online betting service with generous rebates. And why should we be interested? Signing off as “Hock”, the sender implies that we could gamble from the safety of our own home, away from a potential coronavirus infection. 

It’s either that, or spammers these days are just concerned about our wellbeing. They can’t rip you off if you’re in hospital, anyway. 

But on a serious note, resist the urge to reply to these unsolicited loanshark messages, however attractive the offers of so-called financial assistance may be. Either you ignore these messages entirely or start lodging formal complaints to the police. 

Even if you really are that desperate for entertainment while stuck indoors, acting on these messages by unlicensed moneylenders and gambling syndicates ain’t the solution, chief. Instead, maybe get into online multiplayer games, plague-themed mobile games, or some good old questionable content. 

For the latest updates on the coronavirus virus, visit here.

ilyas@asiaone.com